In 1998, a group of PSU electrical engineering students formed the Portland State Aerospace Society and started building rockets. Today, the interdisciplinary group works on rockets, satellites and all the technology in-between — and provides opportunities, community and real-life career experience for students.

Coty Raven Morris knows personally the life-changing power of making music with others. In her role as PSU’s Hinckley Assistant Professor of Choir, Music Education and Social Justice, she teaches students to model empathy through music and reminds them that building community is more important than hitting the right notes.

If you’ve seen the mural or new streetlights around the Moda Center celebrating Portland’s new G League basketball team, Rip City Remix, then you’ve seen the work of Ayla Leisure, local artist, Portlander and PSU graduate (’15).

As the Native American Student & Community Center celebrates its 20th anniversary, we look back to discover how the center came to be - and what it’s meant for students and community members past, present and future.

When goalball came into Paralympian Eliana Mason’s life, she discovered a sport that helped her embrace her blindness rather than be embarrassed by it. Multiple medals later, this PSU alumna has proven she has the talent and the grit to excel in international competition with the best players in the game.

PSU’s Chicano/Latino Studies program grew out of student demand in the 1990s, and is a testament to years of advocacy from students, faculty and staff. Today, it’s meeting the needs of the university’s fast-growing Latinx population thanks to new leadership, an enhanced curriculum and a Chicano/Latino Studies bachelor’s degree.

In the days leading up to her first day as Portland State University’s new president, Ann Cudd was summiting Colorado’s Mount Princeton. Her grit and determination is as much a hallmark of her journey to leadership as her commitment to higher education access for all. We invite you to get to know PSU's 11th president.

PSU alum connects art, queer community in Mis Tacones. Entering Mis Tacones feels like entering a celebration of color, love and community. Adorned with piñatas, tchotchkes, art featuring Walter Mercado — a Puerto Rican astrologer and cultural icon — and two intensely colorful murals depicting Mayan goddess.

Outlet, the print shop co-owned by Kate Bingaman-Burt, associate director of PSU’s School of Art+Design, and Leland Vaughan ‘19, contains multitudes. It is a print shop, yes, but also Bingaman-Burt and Vaughan’s studio, a space for workshops and pop-up events, a zine library and a hub where artists can build community.

On May 13, The Pacific Islanders Club turned up the heat inside the Viking Pavilion! Performers twirling fire-lit knives bookended a night of cultural dances, music, and food celebrating the vibrancy of the Pacific Islands.

Lifelong Sunni Muslims, Rashid Muse and Abdi Ibrahim navigate the month of Ramadan in the midst of the Outdoor Track & Field season — balancing fasting, training and schoolwork. This year they invited other PSU athletes to join them in a Somali and Arabic feast after sunset.